Jets Outlast Chiefs in a Fitting Ending to a Foul Season

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.— In an almost empty stadium, with steady rain pelting the field, Mike Nugent lined up to kick the winning field goal. He knew immediately whom he would dedicate the kick to.

The previous 48 hours had knocked the Jets’ special teams for an emotional loop. They found out their coach, the coordinator Mike Westhoff, would not be back next season.

And there they found themselves Sunday, in overtime, lined up for a fitting send-off. It took two timeouts and two attempts — the first was nullified by a holding penalty — for the Jets to outlast the Chiefs, 13-10, in overtime at Giants Stadium.

The first game ball? It went to Westhoff.

“How fitting for him,” kick returner Leon Washington said. “Who knows? He might be the best special-teams coach ever to coach this game.”

The news did not come as a complete shock. Westhoff spent this season on crutches, having endured surgery on his left leg in February, his eighth operation since doctors discovered a malignant tumor on his left femur in 1988.

Westhoff needs another operation in February. The graft in his left leg keeps fracturing, and doctors will replace it with a prosthetic rod, a total replacement from hip to knee.

Westhoff told his special-teams units Saturday he would not coach next season. They call him one of the toughest coaches they ever met, and when they saw him almost in tears during the meeting, they could sense the end.

“It’s something that we knew was coming,” Westhoff said. “I have to address this and get it taken care of correctly, or the problem will linger and linger and become worse.”

On Sunday morning, the Jets held their usual team meeting for games that start at 4:15 p.m. Coach Eric Mangini talked about Westhoff, detailing what he meant to the Jets and what he meant to special teams across the N.F.L.

The Jets showed a video montage. There was Westhoff, throwing the cane he used last season after a particularly bad play. There was Westhoff, barking instructions from the sideline. And there were his players, returning kicks for touchdowns, covering, punting, kicking.

Several players said they cried. This is the legacy he will leave.

“It got emotional,” linebacker David Bowens said.

Westhoff’s announcement played heavily into the game. Washington, who came in with three kickoff returns for touchdowns, found himself pressing, trying to tie the N.F.L. record of four. He did not.

Bowens found himself thinking back to their first meeting, last off-season. He said Westhoff was “a big reason” that he signed with the Jets. Westhoff did not rule out returning after next season. “I don’t know,” he said. “It hasn’t been decided. I’m not going to use the word ‘retire.’”

Photo

Mike Nugent (1) dedicated his winning kick to the special-teams coordinator, Mike Westhoff, who faces surgery and wont be back next year.Credit
Al Bello/Getty Images

The scene gave the Jets a lift at the end of a dismal season. They talked of momentum heading into next year, of watching Thomas Jones run, as tight end Chris Baker said, “like a man possessed.” They won for Westhoff. And they said they could use all that this off-season.

The scene provided a fitting ending for another reason entirely. Amid the red sea of empty seats, while spoiling the return of their former coach Herman Edwards, the Jets managed to somehow win, give Westhoff the proper send-off and still lose.

The Jets finished with four victories, the same as Atlanta, Kansas City and Oakland. Had they lost, they would have tied St. Louis for the second-worst record in football.

The victory actually hurt the Jets in this spring’s draft, moving them from picking second or third to picking sixth.

The Chiefs tied the score at 10-10 with 2 minutes 59 seconds remaining. Brodie Croyle lofted a ball toward the right corner of the end zone, and it wobbled in the air and fell into the hands of Jeff Webb for a 26-yard touchdown reception. Jets cornerback Hank Poteat, beaten on the play, could only hang his head.

It has been that kind of season.

Anticipation reached its peak before the game started. After the national anthem, Edwards led the Chiefs onto the field he once called home. He went to the sideline opposite the one he worked from 2001 to 2005, where he led the Jets three times to the playoffs.

Speculation ran all week on the type of reception Edwards would receive. Boos? Cheers? Flying hot dogs? Reality proved much milder. Some fans booed. Others cheered. Most only watched.

The question of how Jets fans felt about their former coach, who left under circumstances that have never been explained, was left unanswered. The question of how the Jets felt about their 2007 team was answered loud and clearly — by the rows of empty seats.

Rough estimates put attendance at less than half of capacity. Factors included the rain, the holiday weekend, the 4:15 p.m. start, and two football teams whose combined win total (seven) would not get them in the playoffs.

Kellen Clemens started at quarterback for the Jets, after missing most of the last two games with rib and shoulder injuries sustained against New England. The backup quarterback Chad Pennington, the captain who lost his job in this lost season, walked to midfield for the coin toss.

Was it the last time Pennington would be in a Jets uniform?

Those sorts of questions swirled around a game featuring two teams with nothing left to play for except next season. Both are expected to have major off-season renovations.

Several Jets took the field Sunday not knowing if they would be back next season, players like receiver Justin McCareins, tackle Anthony Clement, Poteat, linebacker Victor Hobson and punter Ben Graham. Cornerback Andre Dyson was inactive and may not be back. Uncertainty also surrounded receiver Laveranues Coles and linebacker Jonathan Vilma, each on injured reserve.

Those are questions the Jets will answer in the coming weeks. They reserved Sunday for Westhoff and the fitting send-off.

“He’s a Hall of Famer,” Bowens said. “He’s the heart and soul of our special teams.”